Buying guide for properties in Thailand

Buying a home in Thailand

Finding the right home
We help you find the right home. Whether you are looking for a small apartment, a terraced house or a villa, we will help you find and give you suggestions based on your search criteria. We also guide you to which area suits your wishes. The easiest way is to fill in our form on our website, then we know what you are looking for and can help you quickly. We also usually call and follow up so that we are completely sure that you will get the right service from us.

Financing
Our advice is to have financing already before you go on a tour. Then you can act quickly when the right home appears. It is not possible to mortgage the Thai home. So the most common alternative is to mortgage your permanent home in your home country.

Viewing
Once you, or we together, have found the right area and the right housing, it’s time to come down to Thailand for a viewing. We often book several screenings so that you have several good choices. We are happy to help you book airline tickets and hotel stays. We make sure to produce all the necessary information about the home and go through the display homes at the hotel or at our office before we go to the tours together by car.

Bidding
When you have found the home you want, place a bid. In most cases, the bid is placed below the starting price only in exceptional cases does the bidding go up. The most common is that you are the sole bidder and can therefore negotiate with the seller.

The buyer’s duty to inspect
You as the buyer are responsible for checking the home and its condition before you sign the purchase contract. The starting point is that the house or apartment is sold in its existing condition with regard to age, price and use.

Owning a property in Thailand
In Thailand, you are not allowed to own the land in the same way as we are used to in Sweden. Without it, only people with Thai citizenship will be allowed to do so. However, there are two different approaches that allow us westerners / Swedes to still buy / own a property in a safe way in Thailand.

These two ways are:

1. Lease land
Foreigners have the right to lease land for a shorter or longer period of time. The leasing right can be registered for 30 years and has a clause that gives the right to two more periods of 30 years at a time. In total on a contract, the leasing period can amount to 90 years. This clause is common and gives foreigners unlimited rights to the land throughout the period. However, not all landowners make use of the extension option to the maximum, but there is limited leasing for both 30 and 60 years.

However, there is nothing in the law that supports leasing periods longer than 30 years.

Without it, periods of 30 years apply to each registered lease with the option to extend two more periods. The contract for the option to extend additional periods is a contract that has been drawn up with the landowner.

Some landowners also offer free overwriting of the land if the Thai laws change during the lease term, as they see this form of transfer as a pure sale with currently the best possible conditions.

As a buyer, you should strive to lease the land with the best possible conditions, ie for 90 years in total, as the chances are high that the land will be yours in the meantime. For leasing periods of more than three years, the leasing agreement must be registered with the Thai Land Office. The agreement is then registered on the title deed (Land Title papers) and protects the buyer during the period of the agreement, even if the land were to be resold to a third party.

 2. Purchase of land through Thai company

Thai companies can buy land as a legal entity. If a foreigner is the CEO or a majority shareholder, he can control the land through the company. Foreigners can hold a maximum of 49% of the shares in a Thai  company, while the remaining 51% must be held by Thai citizens.

To set up a Thai company in the form of a limited liability company called Limited Cooperation, the help of a Thai lawyer is required. This process can take a few weeks, when a lot of paperwork must be filled in and signed and applications for company names etc. must be ordered and approved. This costs about 25-40,000 THB. An English version will also be created, as the original papers are in Thai. Thus, choose a lawyer who has good references from similar assignments. Once you have started your business, you are liable for reporting in Thailand and must have a Thai auditor, even if you have no actual business in the company, but only use it to own land. You should also show some form of activity that shows turnover in the company to prevent the authorities from exercising transparency in the company. However, the foreigner can be given more voting shares corresponding to our Swedish A shares, which give this control of the company. The Thais, who must amount to at least seven, then only hold B shares. It is common for one’s own lawyer and his employees to be registered as other Thai shareholders. The Thai shareholders have no control over the company and they never have to be involved in any decisions. The Thai shareholders can also be replaced whenever the foreign director wishes. The Thai shareholders have no control over the company and they never have to be involved in any decisions. The Thai shareholders can also be replaced whenever the foreign director wishes. The Thai shareholders have no control over the company and they never have to be involved in any decisions. The Thai shareholders can also be replaced whenever the foreign director wishes.

Costs associated with your purchase
Normal purchase costs for a Thai home are relatively low. Usually costs between 50,000 – 100,000 Baht.

LEASE REGISTRATION COST
When selling a property that has a so-called. Leasehold ownership, a fee of 1.1% of the assessed value of the property is charged when a new lease is registered. Note that the assessed value is usually lower than the actual purchase price.

COST OF PURCHASE OF FREEHOLD PROPERTY (COMPANY-OWNED PROPERTY).
If the property you buy is already a so-called. Freehold property, ie owned in company form. This is how you take over the existing company. The cost of changing owners of the company is about: 10,000 Bath. And no other costs are added.

LEGAL FEES AND TRANSLATION FEES
Legal fees vary depending on the services included and the complexity of the purchase. Most legal agents offer a fixed fee and you can count on a typical attorney’s fee of 80,000 – 150,000 baht. We help you with reputable legal representatives.

Property ownership costs
In Thailand, there are no annual fees for taxes or the like when owning a property. Of course, you pay ongoing costs such as electricity / water and in several areas you also have an area fee, so you are paid every year for the common facility costs such as: pool, parking, guard, etc.

Rental costs
If you choose to rent out the property partially or permanently, most companies on Koh Lanta charge a fee of 15 – 20% of the rental income. The excess amount of the rental is deposited to you in the specified account. If the account you enter is in Thailand, you must pay 12.5% ​​in tax on that amount according to Thai law. However, you can make deductions for fees / improvements you have made to the property.

Access
Access is usually immediate when the final payment has been made. However, this does not always mean that you can use the home from that day directly. As many properties have rental agreements and the property may be leased at the date of occupancy. Then, of course, as the new owner of the property, you will receive the income that will be brought in from the rental from the date of occupancy paid to you as the new owner. And then you have to agree with the rental company when the property is not booked in the future so you can start using the property yourself or if you want to continue renting out.

Last words.

Always use a proffesional agent that can help you buy or sell your property in Thailand

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